Fire Safety and Burns - Identifying High-Risk Situations

Children are at increased risk for serious fire and burn injuries and death because they have thinner skin than adults, resulting in more serious burns at lower temperatures. Most burns and fire injuries and deaths occur in the home. By knowing the high-risk situations for fires and burns and taking steps to make your home safer, you can help protect your child from fire and burn injuries or death.

Age

Most Common Injury Type

Risk Factors

< 5 Years

Flame

Playing with matches, cigarette lighters, fires in fireplaces, barbecue pits, and trash fires.

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Scald

Kitchen injury from tipping scalding liquids.

Bathtub scalds often associated with lack of supervision or child abuse. Greatest number of pediatric burn patients are infants and toddlers younger than 3 years of age burned by scalding liquids.

5 to 10 Years

Flame

Male children are at an increased risk often due to fire play and risk-taking behaviors.

.

Scald

Female children are at increased risk, with most burns occurring in the kitchen or bathroom.

Occurs most often in male adolescents involved in dare-type behaviors, such as climbing utility poles or antennas. In rural areas, burns may be caused by moving irrigation pipes that touch an electrical source.

High-risk situations can include:

failing to install and maintain working smoke alarms.

leaving children unattended in the home, especially in the kitchen or bathroom.